Media on a Mission – Quarantine Watchlist – Hulu Edition

Media on a Mission – Quarantine Watchlist – Hulu Edition

In March we released our Quarantine Watchlist – Netflix Edition. We hope you enjoyed some of the titles on that list! It’s now April, and social distancing is more important now than ever before in our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. To help you pass the time at home, we’ve scoured Hulu to come up with a list of TV shows, movies, and documentaries that can keep you connected to YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.

This list highlights stories that are told by and for people of color, that feature strong female leads, that celebrate cultures or examine the complexities of living among multiple family cultures. From family-friendly titles, to mature dramas and non-fiction documentaries, there’s something on this list for everyone to enjoy.

Grab your popcorn, dim the lights and settle in.

For the Whole Family

Family Matters – Over its nine hit seasons, Family Matters brings us a hilarious slice of middle-class Americana. The extended Winslow family redefines the word “togetherness” as their home splits at the seams with chaos, confusion and laughter. (TV-PG)

Fresh off the Boat – It’s the ’90s and 12 year old, hip-hop loving Eddie just moved to suburban Orlando from DC’s Chinatown with his parents. It’s culture shock for his immigrant family in this comedy about pursuing the American Dream. (TV-PG)

Doc McStuffins – A magical animated series about a six-year-old girl, Doc McStuffins, who has the ability to talk to and heal toys and stuffed animals! With the help of her stuffed animal friends, Doc runs a clinic for toys out of her playhouse.(TV-Y)

Nina’s World – Nina’s World tells the story of imaginative 6-year-old Nina and best friend, Star, having everyday fun within her vibrant and colorful neighborhood. Every day transforms into a new excursion around the neighborhood – celebrating family, community, diversity and wonder. (TV-Y)

Parents and Older Kids

Black-ish – Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow, five kids, and a colonial home in the ‘burbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this Black family? (TV-PG)

Grown-ish – Spin-off from Black-ish. Follow Zoey Johnson as she heads to college and begins her hilarious journey to adulthood. (TV-14)

Living Single – With love, laughter and a little bit of luck, four women in New York City on the threshold of the rest of their lives hilariously celebrate Living Single. (TV-14)

East Los High – East Los High is a breakthrough Hulu Original that centers around romance, dance, and the struggle of a group of Latino teens living in East Los Angeles. (TV-14)

Mature Dramas

If Beale Street Could Talk – Based on the novel by James Baldwin, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is a soulful drama about a young couple fighting for justice in the name of love and the promise of the American Dream. (R)

Shrill – A comedy series starring Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) as Annie, a fat young woman who wants to change her life — but not her body. Annie is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent, and a perfectionist boss. (TV-MA)

Queen Sugar – Produced by Oprah Winfrey, award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay (Selma), and Melissa Carter, Queen Sugar chronicles the lives and loves of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Saint Josephine, Louisiana. Reunited by a family tragedy, the Bordelons must navigate their complicated lives in order to run an ailing sugarcane farm. (TV-14)

Killing Eve – Villanelle is a psychopathic assassin, and Eve is the woman charged with hunting her down; the two fiercely intelligent women, equally obsessed with each other, go head to head in an epic game of cat and mouse. (TV-14)

Docuseries & Shorts

Your Attention Please – Hosted by Craig Robinson, this three-part series explores nine Black voices who are part of the next generation of excellence. Join us as we embark on this visual journey.

I am Jazz – Jazz Jennings is the typical 14 year old girl in all ways but one Jazz was assigned male at birth. Her supportive family accepted Jazz as a girl at a young age, but with her teenage years upon them, they’re in for a whole new set of challenges. (TV-PG)

Queen Collective: Ballet After Dark – After surviving a violent attack, Tyde-Courtney Edwards founds a group for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. From Queen Latifah, Tribeca, and P&G, the Queen Collective is a program accelerating gender and racial equality behind the camera.

Hillary – A remarkably intimate portrait of a public woman, Hillary interweaves revealing moments from never-before-seen 2016 campaign footage with biographical chapters of her life. The series examines how she became at once one of the most admired and vilified women in the world.(TV-MA)

Documentaries

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am – This artful and intimate meditation on legendary storyteller Toni Morrison examines her life, her work and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career. (PG-13)

The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar – Based on her book, this World Premiere film follows Simone Biles through the sacrifices and hard work that led her to win 19 Olympic and World Championship medals and ultimately cemented her stake as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. (TV-PG)

Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie -Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, featuring newly discovered footage and unprecedented access to the inner workings of a toy giant during Barbie’s biggest reinvention, surveys 60 years of women in popular culture through the lens of this 11.5 inch, Zelig-like plastic icon. Featuring interviews with Gloria Steinem, Roxane Gay, Peggy Orenstein, Mattel insiders and cultural historians, the documentary reveals, through both funny and crushing archival material, and fly-on-the-wall observations of Barbie’s current architects, the progression and regression in women’s fight for equality.
(TV-14)

RBG – An intimate portrait of an unlikely rock star: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers explore how her early legal battles changed the world for women. (PG)

You Laugh But It’s True – In the world of stand-up comedy in South Africa, Trevor Noah uses his experiences during Apartheid to prepare for the biggest show of his life.

Ballet Now – For our Y-Dance family. Featuring New York City Ballet’s Prima Ballerina Tiler Peck – the first ever woman to be asked to curate The Music Center’s famed BalletNOW program – and a diverse cast of world-class dancers from around the globe, the film follows Tiler as she tries to execute her groundbreaking vision of mashing together the worlds of tap, hip-hop, ballet and even clown artistry.(TV-14)